Jacob Zuma barred from returning to Parliament
The Constitutional Court has confirmed that Jacob Zuma cannot hold a seat as a member of Parliament in the National Assembly.
Former president Jacob Zuma is ineligible to stand as a candidate in the upcoming 29 May 2024 general elections and cannot occupy a seat in the National Assembly.
On Monday morning, the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) confirmed that due to Zuma’s contempt conviction in 2021 and his sentence of 15 months, he cannot return to Parliament on the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party’s ticket.
Under Section 47 of the South African Constitution, anyone convicted of an offence and sentenced to 12 or more months cannot stand for office until five years after the end of the jail term.
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OVERRULES ELECTORAL COURT’S APRIL 2024 JUDGMENT
However, there was some confusion about the 15-month sanction, emanating from Zuma’s remission of sentence by President Cyril Ramaphosa after the former president spent three months in prison. The Electoral Court had ruled in April that the remission had effectively reduced Zuma’s sentence to three months.
Reading the judgment on Monday, Justice Leona Theron said: “Mr Zuma was convicted in that this court found him guilty of the crime of contempt of court. This Court concludes that Mr Zuma was convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment for the purposes of Section 47(1)(e) of the Constitution and is accordingly not eligible to be a member of and not qualified to stand for election to the National Assembly, until five years have lapsed since the completion of his sentence.”
This is a potential blow to the MK Party’s electoral hopes, after the seemingly placed stock in Zuma’s political pull ahead of the 29 May elections.
However, the party’s national secretary Sihle Ngubane remained bullish outside the ConCourt building in Johannesburg.
“[Former] president Zuma will lead the MK Party. This doesn’t derail our campaign,” said Ngubane, speaking to Newzroom Afrika.
He added the party’s executive would sit and chart a way forward after consulting with Zuma.
HOW JACOB ZUMA GOT CONVICTED FOR CONTEMPT
Zuma was convicted under the Commissions Act, which compels anyone directed to appear before a state commission to attend on their given dates and times. The former president repeatedly ignored these summons, choosing to stay away from Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture.
Zuma’s summons was triggered by repeated accusations by witnesses at the commission, who repeatedly told commission chairperson Justice Raymond Zondo that the former president had given the notorious Gupta family unprecedented power and access to government contracts.